Writing Sample Hafez Nazeri press release Feb 11 (PDF)

SONY CLASSICAL PRESENTS MAJOR LABEL DEBUT FROM IRANIAN
COMPOSER HAFEZ NAZERI

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NAZERI’S UNTOLD SET FOR MARCH 11 RELEASE

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FEATURING TRANSLATIONS BY DEEPAK CHOPRA

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CO-PRODUCED BY DAVID FROST (ANDREA BOCELLI, YO-YO MA)

INVOLVING 38 GRAMMY WINNING MUSICIANS AND ENGINEERS

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Sony Classical has announced a March 11th release for UNTOLD, the much-anticipated major
label debut from acclaimed Iranian composer, vocalist, and virtuoso instrumentalist, Hafez
Nazeri. An innovative synthesis of Middle Eastern and Western elements, UNTOLD introduces
Nazeri as one of modern music's most exciting new voices.

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Co-produced by Nazeri and David Frost (Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma), Untold celebrates the
work of legendary 13th century Persian poet Rumi and his eternal message of peace, light and

love. This magnum opus features 38 Grammy winning musicians and engineers and took over
four years and 5,000 hours in the studio to complete.

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Untold is the first cycle of Hafez’s ongoing project, the Rumi Symphony Project, which is joined
on this recording by a glittering array of guest artists: tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, Grammy
winning drummer Glen Velez, cellists Matt Haimovitz and Johannes Moser, and Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center violist Paul Neubauer. One of the album’s many highlights is the
vocals of Hafez Nazeri's father, iconic Persian vocalist Shahram Nazeri (named the “Pavarotti of
Iran” by the New York Times), whom was the first musician to incorporate Rumi’s poetry into
song some forty years ago. Untold features the poetry of Rumi transcribed in its liner notes by
best-selling author Deepak Chopra.


In both the instrumental and vocal passages, the listener can hear elements of East and West
amalgamated into a single entity, creating a rich texture that sounds like nothing else. At the core
of each of Nazeri’s compositions is the presence of Rumi, whom in the words of Deepak Chopra,
“delivers the divine mystery to us with passion.”

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“Hafez has done an extraordinary job bringing his spiritual intelligence, the longing that we find
in the poems of Rumi and the modern understanding of cosmology and evolution,” says Deepak
Chopra. “He’s brought it all together into a single symphonic orchestra composition.”

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With Iran’s top luthiers, Hafez also designed a modernized version of the traditional setar, which
he introduces for the first time in Untold. Broadening the instrument’s neck and adding two
lower strings to enhance its harmonic and melodic range by 17 chromatic pitches are just some
of the advancements made in order to transform the ancient setar into an instrument capable of
performance in an ensemble. This new instrument is called the Hafez - named, as is its designer,
after the ancient Persian poet Hafez.

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"This album has been an extremely challenging project, to say the least," says Hafez. "I wanted
to forge a unique and enduring new direction in music that will bridge all of our divisions and
unify us. A lofty goal, I know, but one that's driven me for the past decade. I traveled the world to
record with the players that I wanted. Individual pieces became so complex and genre-defying
that even the virtuoso musicians that I was fortunate enough to work with found it challenging at
times. I, too, occasionally struggled to play or sing what I had envisioned and created. The
process resulted in a significant change in the general approach to composition thanks to the
balance Untold presents between East and West. I have also invented a new vocal style as well as
a new technique for a string instrument that I am showcasing in this release. All of these details
compliment the album's main theme, which is change."

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For Hafez, the goal of change extends beyond music-making. After years of political conflict,
Untold arrives at a time when tensions between Iran and the West appear to be softening. Hafez
hopes his music and art can call attention to the rich contributions of Persian civilization in world
culture.

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“When all that we hear about Iran is filtered through headlines of intolerance, it’s more important
than ever to shine a light on the country’s 7,000-year-old cultural history with its deeply poetic
and artistic mystical tradition. I’d be honored to have my music help spark a new conversation.”
says Hafez.

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“I think this music has the capacity to totally transform our consciousness, literally cause a
mutation in our consciousness and as that shifts everything shifts: the way we think, the way we
behave, the way we speak to each other and the way we interact with the world.” adds Deepak
Chopra.

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Hafez will be promoting the album with a North American tour that kicks off March 8th at Roy

Thomson Hall in Toronto. Dates are as follows:

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March 8

Toronto

Roy Thomson Hall

March 9

Montreal

Place des Arts

March 14

Dallas

Eisemann Center

March 23

San Jose, CA Flint Center

March 29

Los Angeles

Nokia Theatre

April 5

Washington

Warner Theatre

April 13

Chicago

Copernicus

April 19

Atlanta

Ferst Center

April 20

Houston

Cullen Hall

April 26

Vancouver

Orpheum Theatre

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ABOUT HAFEZ NAZERI
Hafez Nazeri is Iran’s most influential and innovative new composer and vocalist. The son of
legendary musician Shahram Nazeri, Hafez started his training at age two and has been
performing alongside his father at music festivals in Europe and the Middle East since the age of
nine. With a diploma in composition and conducting from the Mannes School of Music in New
York, Hafez is also a virtuoso on several traditional Persian instruments. He has extended the
technique of playing the setar and devised a new version of the instrument called the hafez.
Hafez Nazeri is the founder of the highly acclaimed Rumi Ensemble, a record-breaking sensation
in the history of the Middle East. In 2005, having played to nearly 140,000 wildly enthusiastic
fans in Iran, Hafez toured the Rumi Ensemble in the U.S. along with his father. His sold-out
performances have filled Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal Albert Hall in London, Disney Hall
in Los Angeles and other major venues around the world. In 2007 Hafez expanded the Rumi
Ensemble to create the Rumi Symphony Project, the entity for which Untold has been written.
As Hafez has mounted one major production after another in the U.S., he has attracted the
attention of increasing numbers of important print, web and broadcast media, creating a steadily

building appreciation for his music and ideas. He has been interviewed and/or reviewed by the
Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco
Chronicle, San Diego Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, Fox News, BBC World
Service, ABC, NPR and many more.

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Hafez has made his home in New York City, with occasional visits to Tehran.

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www.hafeznazeri.com

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The Tehran-born Hafez began playing music at age 3 and by age 9 had embarked on many years
of performing and touring alongside his father, adding priceless musical education to his regular
schooling. By the time he was a teenager he had appeared at music festivals throughout Europe
and the Middle East, and at 21 he assembled a group of talented young players to form a group
he called the Rumi Ensemble. Hafez wrote innovative music for this ensemble which
immediately spoke to a younger audience than traditional Persian music, and the group became
wildly popular in Iran. Select compositions from the Rumi Ensemble tour were also performed
by other orchestras at concerts and festivals in Sweden, Belgium, France, Morocco and the U.K.

Shortly after the success of the Rumi Ensemble, Hafez sought to extend his musical education to
the Western classical tradition, and moved to New York City. In 2005 he achieved his goal,
earning a diploma in Composition and Conducting from the Mannes College of Music. Upon

graduation Hafez added new members to the Rumi Ensemble and launched In the Path of Rumi,
a highly successful tour of major venues in North America which serviced to establish Hafez as
an important new voice to the Middle Eastern ex-patriot communities in the U.S. The tour also
introduced Hafez to a much broader audience, which led to invitations to lecture at Emory
University and Harvard, where he was recognized for his creative innovations in Persian music.
In 2007 Hafez prepared his most ambitious project to date for the celebration of the 800th
birthday of his muse, the poet Rumi: The Rumi Symphony. The Rumi Symphony performed a
concert called Iranian Sounds of Peace at Disney Concert Hall and at Carnegie Hall to critical
acclaim. Hafez and The Rumi Symphony then recorded The Passion of Rumi, a CD which
reached “Best of” lists in publications on both coasts.

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As Hafez has mounted one major production after another in the U.S., he has attracted the
attention of increasing numbers of important print, web and broadcast media, creating a steadily
building appreciation for his music and ideas. He has been interviewed and/or reviewed by the
Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco
Chronicle, San Diego Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, Fox News, BBC World
Service, ABC, NPR and many more.

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With Iran’s top luthiers, he recently designed a modern version of the setar, broadening its neck
and adding two strings, to enhance its harmonic and melodic range; this new instrument is called
a hafez - named, as is its designer, after the ancient Persian poet Hafez.

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Hafez makes his home in New York City, with occasional visits to Tehran.
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www.hafeznazeri.com
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